The Church lives even when the doors are shut

[Note: This article was originally published on Path Treader Ministries in May 2020. Though the UK has opened up and allowed churches to resume as normal, I have chosen to leave the article unedited.]

In these difficult times, many Christians are getting agitated, restless, even aggressive. Due to the coronavirus, many places have forced churches to close their doors, and in some cases, civil disobedience has even resulted in punishment, with some very corrupt politicians threatening greater punishments for churches that disobey. In one horrible case, small groups of 5 or less people were theoretically permitted, but one woman within the congregation threatened to report the pastor if he allowed this.

On the flip side, there are Christians who have been against the closure of churches from the beginning. There are those who advocate civil disobedience, even claiming Christians who obey the government orders are faithless, sinning, and maybe not even saved.

We are dealing with two very different views here, with both sides having their extremists. But as Christians, we need to remember, we are the Church. There isn't some building out there that Jesus never leaves, there is no mandate to attend a specific location at a specific time every week, there is no limit to when/where you can fulfil your Christian walk. My brethren, we are living in the first time in all of history when "the Church is the people, not the building" finally gives us a legitimate excuse to not go to church.

See, the word "Church" is an English one. But the original word translated "church" is actually the Greek word "Ekklesia", which is not always used to describe Christ's Church. In Acts 19:21-41, for example, we see the word used of the rioters in Ephesus. After 2 hours, the city clerk manages to calm the ekklesia, who were screaming "Great is Diana of the Ephesians". These were not Christians, but pagans, who worshiped a worthless idol.

So what does the word actually mean? Well, it is actually a compound of two other words: Ek (meaning "out of") and Kaleo (meaning "called"). Thus, Ekklesia carries the literal meaning "called out ones". Called out of what? Well, the world, of course! Yet, the focus is not on the ones called out, or what they are called out of, but rather, what they are called to. It is used in a sense of gathering, like in the aforementioned Acts 19. This ekklesia was gathered to oppose Paul and the disciples. What is our ekklesia called to do?

According to 2 Peter 2:5, we are called to be living stones, being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. This is what is meant by the Church is an organism, not an organisation. As our bodies are built out of millions of tiny, living cells, the Body of Christ is built of these "living stones". We are priests, redeemed by the one sacrifice of our own High Priest (Hebrews 7:26-27). Because of this, our own sacrifices are acceptable to God. The good we do for God, because our sins have been paid for, are no longer filthy rags stained by sin (Isaiah 64:6), but instead will be rewarded. And the best part: You can do this anywhere.

It's true what is said: Christianity begins in the home. As Christ tells us in Matthew 6, God sees in secret, and so will reward us openly. You can pray at home, so much so that you actually should shut your door so no one but God can see you. And how easy is it in our day to be charitable secretly? You can donate to a charitable cause anonymously, seen only by God, and anyone nosy enough to peer over your shoulder.

Because of the very nature of the Church, every government on the earth could simultaneously order the destruction of all the world's religious buildings tomorrow, and nothing would change, spiritually. When you have no building to gather in, gather in the parks, or the streets, or the woods, or by the river, or on the mountain, or even just in the home. And even if you must stay home, praise God, for you can do ministry there, too. As the Good Lord tells us, where two or more are gathered in His name, there He is in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

My brethren, we can look forward to the end of this pandemic, and pray that this happens soon. May a time come soon when we can gather as we used to, sitting in the pews without tape everywhere. But until that beautiful day, let us not fear, or be disturbed. Let us not lose sight of what it means to be the Church. May the peace of God flow through us, and when our buildings finally open their doors again, let us simply appreciate how blessed we are. Amen.